Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to circuit board connectors and, more specifically, to a PCB zero-insertion-force connector with a housing and two connector halves accommodated in the housing which are swivelable toward each other and away from each other. In a mounting position, in which they are swiveled away from each other, the connector halves allow the insertion of one of the PCBs to be brought into contact with each other. In a connecting position, in which they are swiveled towards each other, they establish a contact with the inserted PCB.
Such PCB zero-insertion-force connectors are known, for example, from U.S. Pat. No. 3,130,351 to George Giel. The connectors serve the purpose of connecting two PCBs electrically and mechanically to each other essentially without any force. The connectors are generally used, inter alia, to connect a first PCB simply and without any danger of force damage essentially perpendicularly onto a second PCB (for example a so-called backplane or motherboard). The resulting electrical and mechanical connection is secure and reliable.
The number of contacts which are to be connected with one another when connecting PCBs differs from case to case and may vary considerably. Accordingly, the PCB zero-insertion-force connectors connecting the PCBs are also to be designed for different numbers of contacts.
For this reason, the PCB zero-insertion-force connectors are to be offered in different lengths, the various lengths preferably corresponding to an integral multiple of a basic length (for example 25 mm).
However, the manufacture of PCB zero-insertion-force connectors of different lengths involves relatively high expenditure, because individual parts of different sizes have to be produced and assembled (preferably on one and the same apparatuses).
This problem could be obviated if only PCB zero-insertion-force connectors of the basic length were manufactured and these were constructed in such a way that they can be combined to give any overall length by fitting them next to one another. However, such PCB zero-insertion-force connectors are difficult to process, at least whenever a number of them are to be combined to give a larger PCB zero-insertion-force connector. Processing requires an increased number of working steps and an extreme degree of precision.